Highlands’ water cleared by state

Crews work round the clock to fix the water problem in Highlands. Above the wrokers are near the office of the Highlands/Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce next door to the water office on San Jacinto St.

HIGHLANDS– A Water Main burst on Prairie St. here last Saturday. H.C. WCID#1, the water supplier for Highlands, issued a boil water warning to residents, the problem has been remedied now.
When a boil water warning is issued residents should bil water to be consumed for just over 2 minutes allow it to cool before drinking.
Water mains have been erupting throughout Texas due to the extended heat with little rain according to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. That entity requires that when water pressure falls below 20 lbs. per square inch that the water companies issue boil water warnings.
There was a small rain on Satuday morning but the manager of Highlands water said he did not know if the incident of the rain had anything to do with the rupture.

According to Mark Taylor of HCWCID#1, “On July 16, 2011, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) required Harris County WCID #1 the Public Water Supplier for Highlands Texas, (PWS # 1010159) to issue a Boil Water Notice (BWN) to inform our customers that due to the presence of contaminants or an interruption in service, water from our system must be boiled prior to consumption.
Our system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore adequate pressure, disinfectant levels, and/or bacteriological quality and has provided TCEQ with testing results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling.
If you have questions, contact Mark Taylor at 281-426-2115.”
Monday morning Taylor took the samples to the TCEQ labratories for examination, the exam is an 18 hour process.
Highlands purchases 80% of its water from the City of Baytown’s Water service and about 20% from local aquifers. The water from Baytown ultimately comes from the Trinity River and the well water from the San Jacinto River.